Once again cited for its outstanding initiative in delivering excellent government services and programs to its constituents, the City Government of Valenzuela garnered two Development Academy of the Philippines’ (DAP) Government Best Practice Recognition (GBPR) 2017 trophies during the sidelights of the International Conference on Public Sector Productivity held at the DAP Conference Center, Tagaytay City, October 11, 2017. 

Among the 13 finalists this year, Valenzuela City’s Disiplina Village: Bagong Bahay, Bagong Buhay (Complete In-City Housing Package for Disaster Preparedness and Resiliency) and the Education 360 Degrees Investment Program were among the five government practices that were recognized as successful and validated government practices that provide citizens with the best and utmost services. 

The Disiplina Village has a total land area of 13 hectares for its two sites in Barangays Ugong and Bignay, is the country’s biggest in-city housing project. Complete with facilities such as the 3S Center or satellite city hall, health station, daycare center, police community precinct, fire sub-station, multi- purpose hall, basketball courts, elementary and high schools, livelihood facilities, such as, community fishpond and vegetable farm, tofu production mini-plant, and bag sewing and shirt printing shop. 

The Disiplina Village-Bignay shall put the 4,594 informal settler families (ISFs) living along the waterways by early 2018. 

Education 360 Degrees Investment Program, on the other hand, is the holistic, systemic, community- driven and student-centric approach in addressing education woes in the city. The city government adapts a cover-all-fronts strategy and invests heavily in every vital aspect of basic education: school supplies, curriculum, nutrition, teacher competency, parental involvement and infrastructure. It offers programs and projects to public school students that are usually only found in exclusive private schools. 

The winning entries for this year’s GBPR were gauged through its innovativeness, result-oriented approach, systematic and data driven, and stakeholder-centered initiatives. The recognition is a component activity of the Government Excellence Class (GEC), DAP’s initiative to build a culture of business excellence in the public sector.